We were still reeling from the prospect that Ryan Seacrest’s new three-year  ”American Idol” contract is worth $45 million (we’d take $80,000 a year to introduce singers, roll our eyes and make lame gay-baiting comments with Simon Cowell) when we found out that Paula Abdul hadn’t yet been given an offer for next season yet.

WHAT?

This probably sounds a little hypocritical of the Pop Shop, who has been advocating Paula’s replacement with fellow ’80s dance pop darling Jody Watley for years, or with anybody else with musical chops and the ability to express those chops in coherent sentences in English. But then we got a load of Kara DioGuardi last season, and for all of her impressive writing and producing credits, we weren’t impressed by her actual judging. Sure, she started out credibly, but after weeks of trying to convince us that every third performance was “artistry” (it wasn’t) and using fancy words to not actually say anything, we were bored wished they’d give her time back to Paula. If you’ve gotta be incoherent, you might as well be fun.

But what if Paula is, indeed, not forever Idol’s girl? We hear they haven’t offered Kara a deal either – and after her schlocktastic “Idol” single “No Boundaries,” she should owe them money — and we can’t imagine they’d settle for just Simon and Randy “Hot Enough To Fry A Dawg’s Brain” Jackson. You’ve got to have a balance between Simon, who makes a lot of sense but is sometimes harsh about it, and Randy, who we really wish was the one being replaced. So who might be the third member of the panel if Paula gets the heave-ho? Funny you should ask!

— JENNIFER LOPEZ: Apparently, Seacrest is agitating for JLo to join the judge’s table. http://news.google.com/news?um=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=jlo+idol+judge I don’t see it. She’s still got a career, even if it’s not as hot as it used to be, and I can’t imagine how being chained to the panel for months would do her any good. She’s not a great singer, honestly (yeah, I said it) but she was a pretty good mentor to Sanjaya and the gang in 2007, and she really could give some great advice about performance and packaging ones self. Also, I can’t imagine how much that contract would set 19 Entertainment back.

— JODY WATLEY: We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again — Jody is fierce. Her voice was passable, but her dancing, presence, and penchant for a catchy tune were, for a while, hard to beat. “Don’t You Want Me” could kick “Forever Your Girl”‘s butt. And having seen her on Bravo’s “Work Out,” she appears to be able to string words together to form sentences. Bonus: Sets stage for possible Shalimar reunion! “Second Time Around,” indeed!

— DENISE WILLIAMS: Pop fans may only know her from “Let’s Her It For The Boy,” but if you grew up listening to R&B in the early ’80s, she was the queen. (Look up “Silly” and “It’s Gonna Take A Miracle” right now). She has an amazing singing voice, so we could actually take her word on other people. The kids might not know who she is, but I think she might work.

— T-BOZ FROM TLC: She got bounced prematurely from “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and I haven’t really forgiven Donald Trump for it. But T-Boz, whose sideburns I had for a time in the early ’90s, proved that she’s smart enough to hold her own around crazy fellow celebrity-ish people, and then probably able to counteract whatever mess Randy is talking about. The most important thing – she’s a successful singer and songwriter who knows what the heck she’s talking about.

— TAJ FROM SWV: Like T-Boz, she’s an early 90s pop/R&B superstar who made a splash on reality TV, as the sweet but fierce mama bear from “Survivor.” (She was always our favorite, mostly because she proved that a 37-year-old mom can outlast almost all of the whippersnappers.) She’s also gorgeous, funny and would probably be very defensive of the singers against Simon’s sharpness and Randy’s…whatever that is that Randy does. 

— WYNONNA JUDD: Why should pop divas have all the fun? Sister’s got the voice, the track record and, most importantly, the guts to stand up to any snot-nosed contestants, a ‘la Bikini Girl (can you imagine her getting in Wynonna’s face? She would slap her with her wig!) as well as to any of Simon’s foolishness. Also, speaking of Simon, she would never tolerate any of his eye-rolling about how he doesn’t like country music. It’s here to stay. She’s had a rough life, and I don’t believe she suffers fools gladly. This could be AWESOME.

— ME: Cons: No one knows me, I’m not skinny, never wrote a hit and am seriously lacking weave. Pros: I have been on the Idol beat for about six years, love music, have a more than decent voice, a big mouth and a fun ‘fro. Also, I can speak on the fly, can back up my opinions, and know, unlike Kara, that “Dream On” is not a new Aerosmith song.